The aims of the proposed Immunology Training Program is to provide academia, industry, and governmental research laboratories with highly creative and productive immunologists who are broadly trained in immunology, well trained in their research specialty and schooled in interrelated fields. This goal will be achieved by having the predoctoral students follow a defined set of program-specific courses as part of the Immunology Track set in the established interdepartmental graduate training milieu of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). The environment will be fostered by an interactive Immunology faculty dedicated to excellence in teaching and collaborative research and committed to immunology training;active immunological research programs of trainees and their mentors;structured lecture courses at the basic and advanced levels and an adjunct co-seminar, a series of advanced level seminar courses, a research-in-progress seminar series and a journal club;an active seminar series, and by a catalytic number of trainees. This will occur within a department with strong complementary programs in virology, microbiology and vaccine biology that will contribute to the breadth of training received. Research training opportunities in a wide variety of immunological problems within the purview of: B cell biology;T cell biology;inflammation;tumor immunity;autoimmunity;evolution of immunity;and neural-immune system interactions will be offered to pre- and post-doctoral fellows by an experienced, talented primary training faculty with strong records of extramural funding and an established history of collaboration. They will be assisted by a cadre of resource faculty that will contribute intellectually and technically to immunologically relevant projects. We will continue to strengthen our already successful strategies to recruit and nurture minority and women students and to provide all of the trainees with the essential skills to become independent scientists with an appreciation for the ethical conduct of research. These trained scientists will provide the next generation of researchers and teachers to further the advances in basic science and translational studies needed to improve healthcare in this country. Training support is requested for 8 predoctoral and 1 postdoctoral trainee in each of 5 years.